Monday, July 24, 2023 • 8:15 p.m.
Amphitheater

Bradley Thachuk, Conductor

Ryo Hasegawa, David Effron Conducting Fellow (Adams)

Sasha Janes, Artistic Director - School of Dance

Timothy Muffitt, Artistic and Music Director - School of Music

Patricia McBride, Director of Ballet Studies and Principal Repetiteur

Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux, Principal Resident Coach

Spencer Myer, Piano

 Chautauqua School of Dance presents an outstanding mixed repertoire evening of new and established works, masterfully performed by the Music Student Festival Orchestra. This performance will feature the most exceptional young talent in the country. Under the leadership of Sasha Janes, the school continues its long tradition of excellence as a top-tier summer training program focused on bringing the next generation of dance stars from the studio to the stage.  

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): excerpts from The Nutcracker

Choreography by Sasha Janes

Overture

Spanish Variation
Andrew Buckley, Eloisa Edginton, Pierce Gallagher, Aram Hengen, Jonimarie Purtle, Maggie Sorge

Arabian Variation
Karsen Gresham and Bryan Gregory

Russian Variation
Jacob Soltero

Marzipan
Eva Bendesky, Anya Chiu, Amelia Erich, Maddie Tyler, Eden Young

Mother Ginger:
Costume design by Linda Pisano
Performed by School of Dance Festival Students – Alina Chi, Aubrey Cordes, Abigail Goldberg, Phoebe Gray, Sarah Hudzik Jaidyn Janes, Majerle Loy, Sophia Rochios, Eliana Wade, Kate Waters, Ashlyn Wood, Natalie Yohrling, Bruno Khilkin Secches, Sebastian Sinclair

Waltz of the Flowers
Vanessa Meikle

Eva Bendesky, Emma Cilke, Anika Crouser, Noa Dean, Eloisa Edginton, Amelia Erich, Tess Fein, Sarah Hurty, Dylan Kattwinkel, Gianna Morette, Jessica Ousterhout Jonimarie Purtle, Emma Robinson, Maggie Sorge, Maddie Tyler, Eden Young

Grand Pas de Deux

Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869): Grande Tarantelle for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 67

Choreography by George Balanchine
Arranged by Hershy Kay
Staged by Patricia McBride

Anya Chiu and Jacob Soltero

This performance of Tarantella, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust.

John Adams (b. 1947): The Chairman Dances

Ryo Hasegawa, Conductor 

Choreography by Kara Wilkes
Costume Design by Jessica Toby Lustig

Retailer 1 – Aram Hengen
Retailer 2 – Karsen Gresham
Retailer 3 – Zachary Kushubar

Consumer 1 – Thomas Kingsbury
Consumer 2 – Natalia Burns

Crew: Andrew Buckley, Abbie Gross, Eden Young, Bryan Gregory, Eva Bendesky, Tess Fein, Emma Cilke, Emma Robinson

Intermission

Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): Variations from "Don Sebastian"

Choreography by George Balanchine
Staged by Patricia McBride
Premiered November 16, 1960

Jessica Ousterhout and Thomas Kingsbury

Natalia Burns, Emma Cilke, Noa Dean, Amelia Erich, Sarah Hurty, Maddie Tyler

Andrew Buckley, Pierce Gallagher, Aram Hengen

_{This performance of Donizetti Variations, a Balanchine® Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style® and Balanchine Technique® Service standards established and provided by the Trust.}

The MSFO incorporates a rotational seating policy. 

Flute
Jocelyn Zhang
Ivo Shin de Souza
Josean Delgado

Oboe
Kearsen Erwin
Brian Stewart
Nathalie Vela

Clarinet
Aaron Lipsky
Nathan Magley
Katia Waxman

Bassoon
Alexander Lake
Lauren Hallonquist
Miranda Macias

Horn
Dena Levy
Trenton Carr
Samuel Himes
Katya Jarmulowicz
Gretchen Berendt

Trumpet
Fiona Shonik
Kevin Skinkis
Jeremy Bryant

Trombone
Tsz Yin Ho
Dane Magruder
Evan Beachy, bass trombone

Tuba
Ian Graves

Percussion
Seth Tupy
Karel Zambrano
Izaiah Gonzales
Jake Haskins                                                                                                  Pedro Fernandez

Harp
Zibin Zhou

Piano
Xiaowen Xu

Spencer Myer*

Celeste
Grace Tubbs

Violin 1
Noah Arcenas, concertmaster
Jameson Darcy
Caroline Cornell
Rachel Lawton
Sarah Yang
Ian Jenson
Gabriel Roth
Laura Herrera
Kate Nelson
Jaewon Jun
Nora Wang
Eric Yun

Violin 2
Amelia Posner-Hess, principal
Matthew Musachio
Hobart Shi
Noah Ghosh
Evan Schuman
Gabriella Foster
Pavlo Kyryluik
Wendi Li
John Heo
Valerie Xu-Friedman
Emma Johnson
Carlos Chacon

Viola
Kate Reynolds, principal
Mack Jones
Lily Jonsson
Diego Mieres
Joia Findeis
Ho Fei Ng
Anna Stein
Jeongjae Lee
Mira Vaughn
Owne Xayboury

Cello
Adrian Hsieh, principal
Sofia Puccio
Layla Morris
Maria Savarese
Jooahn Yoo
Ari Scott
Anna Holmes
Abby Hanna
Griffin Seuter
Teo Dage

Bass
Emily Green, principal
Eric Reigelsperger
Danny Sesi
Jane Hanneman
JoHanna Arnold
Duo Chen
Olivia McCallum

*Gottshalk

            Lauded for “superb playing” and “poised, alert musicianship” by The Boston Globe and labeled “definitely a man to watch” by London’s The Independent, American pianist SPENCER MYER is one of the most respected and sought-after artists on today’s concert stages.

            Spencer Myer’s 2023-24 season includes touring throughout the United States, highlighted by his debut engagement with Oregon’s Eugene Symphony Orchestra. He returns to Michigan’s Traverse Symphony Orchestra, this time for a pair of recitals on its “Maestro Series.” Mr. Myer continues as half of the Daurov/Myer Duo, having teamed up with the award-winning cellist Adrian Daurov in 2012.

            Spencer Myer’s orchestral, recital and chamber music performances have been heard throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and Asia. He has been soloist with, among many others, The Cleveland Orchestra, Boise, Dayton, Evansville, Louisiana, Massapequa, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Rhode Island philharmonic orchestras, Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston, ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, the Altoona, Bangor, Baton Rouge, Bozeman, Canton, Chattanooga, Duluth Superior, Flagstaff, Grand Junction, Indianapolis, Juneau, Knoxville, Longmont, Macon, Missoula, New Haven, Omaha, Phoenix, Ridgefield, San Juan, Santa Fe, Springfield (MA, MO, OH), Traverse, Tucson and Wyoming symphony orchestras, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, New York City’s The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony, Canada’s Windsor Symphony Orchestra, Mexico’s Orquesta Filarmónica de Jalisco, South Africa’s Cape Town and Johannesburg philharmonic orchestras and Beijing’s China National Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with, among others, conductors David Bernard, Nicholas Cleobury, Kayoko Dan, David Danzmayr, Robert Franz, Neal Gittleman, Bernhard Gueller, Jacques Lacombe, Jahja Ling, Dirk Meyer, Elliot Moore, Timothy Muffitt, Maurice Peress, Kyle Wiley Pickett, Arthur Post, Kevin Rhodes, Lucas Richman, Matthew Savery, Alfred Savia, Klauspeter Seibel, Steven Smith, Gerald Steichen, Arjan Tien, Peter Stafford Wilson and Victor Yampolsky. His 2005 recital/orchestral tour of South Africa included a performance of the five piano concerti of Beethoven with the Chamber Orchestra of South Africa, followed by four return orchestra and recital tours between 2006 and 2018.

            Spencer Myer’s recital appearances have been presented in New York City’s Weill Recital Hall, 92^nd Street Y and Steinway Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and London’s Wigmore Hall, while many of his performances have been broadcast on WQXR (New York City), WHYY (Philadelphia), WCLV (Cleveland) and WFMT (Chicago). An in-demand chamber musician, he appeared for five summers at the Lev Aronson Legacy Festival in Dallas with cellists Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Amit Peled and Brian Thornton, and enjoys a recurring partnership with the Miami String Quartet at the Kent/Blossom Music Festival. Other artistic partners include clarinetist David Shifrin, Cardiff Singer of the World winner Nicole Cabell, the Jupiter, Manhattan and Pacifica string quartets and the Dorian Wind Quintet. Festival appearances have included those of the Annapolis Chamber, Bard, Blossom, Cape Cod Chamber, Colorado, Gina Bachauer, Jackson Hole, Mendocino, Ravinia, Rocky Ridge and Skaneateles music festivals, Canada’s Concerts aux Iles du Bic, Spain’s Gijon International Piano Festival and Valencia International Piano Academy, and Indonesia’s Yogyakarta International Music Festival.

            Spencer Myer’s career was launched with three important prizes: First Prize in the 2004 UNISA International Piano Competition in South Africa, the 2006 Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship from the American Pianists Association and the Gold Medal from the 2008 New Orleans International Piano Competition. Additionally, he is a laureate of the 2007 William Kapell, 2005 Cleveland and 2005 Busoni international piano competitions. He also enjoys an expanding reputation as a vocal collaborator since winning the 2000 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition. Mr. Myer was a member of Astral Artists’ performance roster from 2003-2010.

            An enthusiastic supporter of the education of young musicians, Spencer Myer has been a frequent guest artist at workshops for students and teachers, and has served on the faculties of the Baldwin-Wallace University and Oberlin College conservatories of music. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, The Juilliard School and Stony Brook University. From 2012 to 2022, he held appointment as Artist-Teacher in Piano and Collaborative Piano at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Mr. Myer was the subject of the cover interview in the January/February 2019 issue of The Piano Magazine: Clavier Companion, relating his thoughts on practicing, performing, teaching and mentoring the next generation of pianists. In the Spring of 2022, Mr. Myer was appointed Associate Professor of Music in Piano at Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs School of Music.

            Spencer Myer’s debut CD for harmonia mundi usa - solo music of Busoni, Copland, Debussy and Kohs - was released in the fall of 2007 to critical acclaim by Fanfare and Gramophone magazines. He can also be heard on a composer-conducted Naxos CD in performances of three concerti from Huang Ruo’s Chamber Concerto Cycle and in a performance of Ravel’s Chansons madécasses, included on "Intimate Masterpieces," a 2013 CD featuring faculty and alumni of the Oberlin Conservatory and issued by Oberlin Music. Mr. Myer’s most recent four recordings – "William Bolcom: Piano Rags,” the Brahms Cello Sonatas with Brian Thornton, the Debussy Cello Sonata and Brahms Clarinet Trio with Brian Thornton and Afendi Yusuf, and Schumann’s works for cello and piano, with Brian Thornton – are available on the Steinway & Sons label. In the Fall of 2022, Steinway Classics released “Chopin: The Four Impromptus”; the album is available worldwide through all download and streaming services.

            In the fall of 2020, Spencer Myer was elected to the Board of Directors of the New York City-based Musicians Foundation (est. 1914).

            Spencer Myer is a Steinway Artist.       www.spencermyer.com

Comprised of top-tier students from conservatories and universities in the U.S. and abroad, Music School Festival Orchestra members participate in a variety of musical activities during their summers at Chautauqua including chamber music and private lessons along with their meticulous orchestral training. Alumni from the MSFO can be heard in many of the world’s top orchestras and chamber ensembles and can be found on music faculties worldwide. The MSFO is led by Artistic Director Timothy Muffitt, who serves as Music Director of the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra.